You thought using the bathroom at Loy Norrix was hard, try doing it while living in the town depicted in the musical “Urinetown.” Plus, you have to pay money for your Minga pass.
“Urinetown” is a comedic musical, centered around a fictional world in which residents have to pay to go to the bathroom. After the town goes through a drought that has lasted 20 years, the government bans private bathrooms and makes people pay to use the public ones. The Public Amenities are run by a private company who profit off of charging people a fee to get in. The poor citizens decide they’ve had enough and plan a revolution to lead them to freedom.
It seems easy for the cast to portray their characters, but it takes a lot of practice and time to get to that point. Rehearsals of dancing and blocking last about 8 weeks at three hours per day, Monday through Friday.
Reed Davis plays Officer Lockstock, and like all performers, he has to figure out how to portray his character with guidance from the script, the director and his own interpretation.
“It’s been a process,” junior Davis said. “It was hard to understand the character at first because he’s very serious but also very silly, and you have to weave in and out of being a narrator, while also being a very serious menacing cop.”
The other side of the musical is the behind-the-scenes action, all of which is coordinated by the student stage managers. Being a stage manager comes with many different responsibilities, as sophomore Carter Moon can attest to.
“When we do rehearsal, I block the scenes and write down any blocking and props that we’ll need for the actual show. Then for the actual show, I am up in the booth, and I call the lighting and sound cues,” Moon said.
Many preparations go into preparing for opening night. Actors have to perfect their lines and memorize dance steps, while the crew has to time their cues perfectly.
Currently, Davis is preparing himself to perform in front of an audience on opening night, which is December 6th, 2024.
“I am making sure I am on top of everything, prepared, and staying ahead so I’m ready for that audience,” said Davis.
The costumes in the musical fit their characters very well. The poor people put makeup on, so it seems like they’ve rubbed dirt everywhere, and the rich people take time to look clean and put together.
“I especially love Pennywise’s costume,” Moon said. “It’s just so fitting for the role, but with all the other costumes, people go all out with how dirty they are working in the sewers and how fancy they look when they’re rich. It fits very well”
The choreography and orchestration of the musical are also well executed. There are a variety of moods and tempos, which the actors and musicians do an excellent job of navigating.
Although Davis enjoys the entire performance, he has a few favorite scenes.
“My favorite line I say,” Davis said.“Is when Officer Lockstock says, ‘There is no Urinetown, we just kill people,’”
